Bring Me Back to Life
by you'lllovemeandI'll loveyou
Summary: Kenyatta never stopped, it only got worse. One weekend when Lip is home Mandy comes looking for Ian in a terrible state.
1. You Found Me

Bring Me Back to Life

(I don't own Shameless)

…

Lip was home for the weekend, College was going well and he knew that Fiona could use all the help she could especially after what happened with Liam. He was still mad at her about that but hey his siblings were still better off with her than they would be if they were put into care. Things with Amanda were going well too, sure she was weird but at least it distracted him from his last fuckup of a relationship.

He was busy heating the meals he had taken from the college cafeteria for dinner while Debbie was upstairs doing homework, Carl was busy trying to make up a new explosive and Liam was in the lounge room watching T.V. Fiona had gone out with Vee and Ian was out doing god knows what with Mickey.

He was just checking on the mac and cheese he had swiped when there was a knock at the door, he took the mac and cheese out of the oven and placed it on the bench, quickly wiping his hands on the rag next to the sink.

He expected it to be either Frank looking for food/money/ a bed or Ian back with Mickey, what he wasn't expecting was to see a small body hunched over, familiar black hair shielding the persons face from view.

"I-Is Ian here?" Mandy stammered, still not looking up

"Mandy? No, he's out with your brother"

She kept her head down still and he could see that she was slightly shaking "Fuck…. ok well can you tell him I came by?" she said turning to leave.

"Mandy wait" Lip started to say reaching out and grabbing her wrist causing her to cry out and curse.

Lip immediately dropped her wrist, upon looking at it he could see that it was purple and looked like it wasn't completely straight.

"the fuck happened to your wrist? Are you ok?"

She kept her back to him still and he could see that she didn't even have a jacket on despite it being freezing, he could also vaguely see bruises blooming on her arms and shoulders. He stepped out of the house and turned her to face him.

When she finally looked up it was as if the wind had been knocked out of him. One eye was completely closed shut and was a mixture of black and blue, it looked like her nose had been broken and there was blood running down onto her split lip. The left side of her face was completely black and blue and there was a large cut running across her right cheekbone.

"Fuck! What the fuck happened?"

"Does it matter? Can you…. Can you just let Ian know I came by?" she said turning to leave again

"The fuck you think I am going to let you leave like this? Come inside I'll get Fiona to bring Vee over" he said, when she looked like she was about to protest he spoke up "Mandy, I'm not letting you go out like this now come inside before I drag your ass in"

She slowly limped to the door but only got a few steps before she stumbled and cried out grabbing her side as she hit the wall.

"Shit! Let me help" he said helping her up and helping her inside the house, sitting her down on the couch next to Liam who continued to watch his cartoons as if nothing had happened.

Now that she was in the light Lip could see even more of her injuries. Her arm had a pretty nasty cut on it the rest of her body was littered with cuts and bruises, he could see some blood seeping through the dark grey shirt she was wearing and he noticed she was hunched over again, wheezing which probably meant she had broken ribs.

"Debbie! Carl" he yells out and a few seconds later Debbie comes bounding down the stairs "Call Fiona, tell her to bring Vee and her first aid kit over right now! And then call Ian and tell him and Mickey to get their asses over here!" Debbie freezes at the sight of Mandy "Debbie now!" he shouts and she runs off upstairs

"You think you can make it up the stairs, you might be more comfortable in my room especially when everyone gets home" he asks and she nods slowly getting up. She carefully takes the stairs one at a time, breathing through the pain that is screaming in her ribs and head. She's used to pain, she's a Milkovich and Milkoviches are tough, she'll be damned if she cries in front of Lip fucking Gallagher of all people.

She makes it to the top and celebrates a small victory before the dizziness overtakes her and falls backwards, he only just manages to catch her before she goes back down the stairs but in doing so he grabs her around the waist, knocking her ribs and making her cry out.

He quickly picks her up bridal style, knowing that he'll get her there faster if he carries her and trying to ignore the muffled groans or the way he can see her jaw clenching out of the corner of his eye with every step he takes. He quickly gets her to his room and settles her down on his bed, noticing the blood her head leaves on his shirt.

He gently inspects the back of her head and his hand comes back wet with blood, the back of her hair matted with it, "Carl!" he yells out again "Carl get your ass in here!"

Carl eventually comes in and sucks in a breath when he sees her "Shit! Is that Mandy?" he curses

"Carl go get me some ice and whatever first aid you can find" Carl quickly speeds off and he turn his attention back to Mandy "Fiona and Vee will be here soon, what the fuck happened?" he asked as he starts to inspect her wounds

"I…I don't know, we were fighting and he just wouldn't stop. Normally it's not this bad"

"Mandy, why the fuck do you stay with him? He hits you, you could do so much better" he says as he gently takes her wrist into his hands

"I'm Mandy Skankovich, for me this is as good as it gets…...You wouldn't understand" she says looking away.

He's about to protest when Debbie comes in "Fiona's on the way, should be here soon. Ian said that Mickey and him will be here as soon as they can" she says and they both thank her. Carl soon comes back with the ice and the few things he could call first aid, some dishtowels, a couple of wet flannels and some dirty looking bandages.

Lip takes one of the flannels while Carl goes to watch Liam and gently starts to clean off some of the blood while Debbie helps hold the ice to her face. They both make small talk for a while to try and distract Mandy from the pain and whatever was probably going through her head when eventually the door downstairs is slammed open and Lip can hear Fiona shouting for him.

He looks at Debbie and she puts down the ice and quickly goes downstairs. Soon Vee and Fiona are coming into his room, Vee with whatever first aid she owns, they both look taken aback at the sight of Mandy on the bed but Vee soon snaps out of it "What happened?" she asks as she puts her stuff next to Mandy on the bed and starts to check her over "Boyfriend" is all Mandy says as she looks at the floor.

"Lip I need some room" she says as she starts to treat Mandy's wounds, he shuffles out of the room while Fiona stays behind to help.

After almost an hour they come back out again, Fiona is carrying the wet dishtowels but they're stained with blood and the sight of them makes him want to hurl.

"She okay?" Lips asks and lets out a sigh of relief when Vee nods

"She'll be alright but the next few weeks are going to be hell for her, she's got cuts covering her back, three or four broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a broken nose. She's literally covered in bruises and that cut on her arm had to be stitched up. She's one tough bitch that's for sure" Vee says "I'm think she may have a concussion though so I'm going to keep her awake for the next few hours"

"She got dizzy on the stairs" Lip says and Vee nods

"I'll be back to check on her in about an hour, don't let her fall asleep and if she can't stay awake or she starts vomiting call an ambulance"

Lip thanks her for her help and once Vee has gone over how to take care of Mandy for the meantime he goes to his room and takes a deep breath before going in.

She looks slightly better with all the blood off of her, she's propped up on the bed with some pillows and he can see that her wrist is all bandaged up and that there are obviously ice packs against her broken ribs under the shirt Fiona lent her

She tries to give him a smile but it causes the cut on her lip to re-open and he quickly grabs a one of the towels form beside his bed and holds it against her mouth.

"Thanks" she mumbles and he holds it there until it stops bleeding. After he sits by her on the bed careful not to nudge her and make the bed move too much.

He takes the ice pack from the side of the bed and gently presses it against her eyes "I'm causing such a mess" she says "I'm sorry to burden you with it"

"You're not a burden" he says and for a second she allows herself to get that warm feeling she always got when she was around him. But then she realised where she was and _who_ she was and shut her feelings away again

He's about to speak up again when he hears the front door slam open and a loud string of curse words being shouted and he knows Mickey and Ian are home. He uncharacteristically gives her a small kiss on the cheek before leaving the room to prepare them.

Mickey and Ian and both red faced and slightly out of breath as if they've been running, Lip feels awful about what he's about to tell them but he knows that he has to.

"Mandy came by looking for you, Kenyatta beat the shit out of her. She's in pretty bad shape" he explains and Mickey rushes off to be with his sister.

Ian looks at him with pity "How bad?"

"She's pretty roughed up, should probably be in a hospital but I doubt she'd go so I got Vee over"

They both wait for Mickey to come back, giving him time with his sister and when he does his eyes are slightly shining, not that Lip would dare mention it and he has this look of rage on his face.

"I'm going to give that piece of shit the beat down of his life, you in?" he spat and Lip nods

"I'm definitely in"

Ian stayed behind to comfort Mandy while Lip went to grab his bat and grab one for Mickey as well.

When they arrive at the Milkovich house they both take a moment to take in the scene before them, it was pretty obvious what had happened when they got a good look around the house, there were chairs turned over and beer bottles broken on the ground. There were some blood splatters in the hallway leading to Mandy's room and when they both took a look inside there was also a large blood stain on the floor and her mirror was in pieces on the floor.

They finally found the fucker passed out in the bathroom, he had scratches on his arms from what was probably Mandy trying to get away and was surrounded by even more beer bottles. Mickey kicked him in the crotch to wake him up and he groaned, opening his bloodshot eyes form all the beer.

"The fuck y'want?" he slurred obviously still drunk

Mickey had had enough and took advantage of the fact that he was inebriated and grabbed the front of his front pulling him up just enough and then swinging his fist in his face

"You think you can beat the crap out of my sister and get away with it? You messed with the wrong family dickwad" he said hitting him again and again until his fists and Kenyatta's face were both bloody.

He eventually gestured for the bat, which Lip hands him with little hesitation "You're going to stay the fuck away from Mandy and me, If I even see you near her again I'll put a fucking bullet in your thick skull okay? And just in case you forget, here's a reminder" he slammed the bat down onto his leg with force causing a loud snap to echo through the room and Kenyatta to yell out.

"Now get the fuck out of my house!" he spits

They're both about to turn and leave the piece of shit on the floor when Kenyatta speaks "Stupid slut deserved it" he yells

Mickey goes for him but Lip is faster, fist flying and slamming into his nose, effectively knocking the fucker out "That was for Mandy" he says wiping the blood off on his jeans.

They both walk back to the house in silence neither thinking of anything they could say to make this shitty situation any better. They're almost there when they hear the screaming, they both run off into the house and rush up the stairs to Lip's room.

Mandy is on the bed, clutching her head and screaming. There is a small pool of vomit next to the bed and Ian is holding her shaking form.

"The fuck happened?" Mickey says going towards them while Lip turns to Debbie

"She said her head hurt and then she just started vomiting, I called Vee again and then 911. They're on the way"

Lip nods and then turns back to the group of people on the floor, Mickey is bickering with Ian about something and when he gets closer he can see that he is covered in vomit and is shaking, with his probable bi-polar this was probably getting too much.

"Mickey go take Ian and help him change, I'll look after her" he suggests. The look Mickey gives him is enough to make him want to crawl up and hide but then he gestures to Ian with his eyes and he sees the way Mickey notices Ian's shaking.

Reluctantly he hands Mandy over to Lip, who sits on the bed with her, one arm holding her up and the other brushing the sweaty hair from her face as she leans against his chest. Her blue eyes are unfocused but still staring up at him and it terrifies him how much pain is in those eyes.

It terrifies him how much it terrifies him.

Vee comes in soon after, Fiona's gone to check on Ian and she is trying to get Mandy to focus on her, asking her stupid shit like 'how many fingers is she holding up?' and checking her vitals. Lip notices that Mandy's eyes are starting to close and he props her up against him more.

"Mandy? Mandy! Mandy open your eyes, keep your eyes open! C'mon you gotta stay awake!" he says gently shaking her to try and keep her awake.

Thankfully the ambulance arrives then and they manage to get to them before Mandy goes completely unconscious, taking her out of Lips arms and moving her straight onto a stretcher, rushing her into the ambulance with Mickey following.

Fiona stays behind with Debbie, Carl and Liam and Ian and Lip promise to call the second they have news and then bolt out the door, running for the hospital where the Milkovich girl was fighting for her life.

…..

Please review, next chapter soon!


	2. How To Save A Life

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 2

(I don't own shameless)

…..

3 days

That's how long Mandy has been unconscious for.

When she was brought in the doctors said there was some bleeding on her brain. A subdural hematoma they had said and she was rushed into surgery to relieve some of the pressure. She also had 3 broken ribs, a broken wrist and nose and several cuts that had to be stitched.

Lip didn't want to know how Mickey managed to get the money for the hospital bills, he had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answer. He couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for this, as he watched the machine breathe for Mandy. What she had done to Karen was fucked up, seriously fucked up but he couldn't help but feel guilty, he _had_ screwed around with Karen which led to Mandy meeting Kenyatta in the first place.

He watched as Mandy's chest rose and fell with each hiss of the machine next to her bed, bandages adorning the left side of her head where her hair had been shaved. One arm was propped up on a pillow, her wrist in a cast and her forearm was wrapped up in bandages where the stitches were, there was a piece of plaster across her nose, keeping it in the position it had been set in by the doctor.

"You need to wake up soon Mandy, Mickey is going out of his fucking mind and Ian barely convinced him not to kill that fucker" Mandy of course doesn't respond and the monitor just continues to beep.

"I think he's avoiding coming to see you because of me, think he blames me in a way. I kind of do too, I was a dick to you. And I want to make it up to you, I want to apologise and you know I'm not the type to fucking apologize so you need to wake up soon" he says taking her hand.

He didn't know if he loved her, after the shitstorm that was Karen Jackson he didn't know if he could ever put himself out there like that. It was easier to be a dick and sleep around, he couldn't get hurt that way again if he didn't get attached but seeing her like this, those moments of terror when she went unconscious, he never wanted to feel like that again.

He hears the door open from behind him and when he glances at it he sees Fiona coming in "Still the same?" she asks and he nods miserably.

"The doctors say she can probably hear us"

"Maybe you should go get a coffee, I'll stay with her" she suggests

"…..Ugh alright just call me if anything changes" he says squeezing Mandy's hand before leaving.

Fiona sits down in the seat he just vacated, she never had been fond of Mandy but she didn't like seeing the girl, who always looked so strong in this state. Not to mention that it was driving her two younger brothers mad.

"Ok Mandy, I know I've never been your biggest fan. In fact, I've kind of been a bit of a bitch not that you haven't been a pain in the ass… Anyway look. I need you to do something for me. I need you to wake up. Ian…... god he's a mess he's trying to help your brother but if you don't make it it'll kill the both of them. And Lip. Lip has always been a bit of a dick but I've never seen him so fucking terrified. So please, if you care about either of them please just wake up"

She waits for a minute to see if there is any sort of response and when there isn't she sighs, _well at least I tried_ she thinks to herself.

And then one of Mandy's fingers move.

And then another.

Fiona grabs her hands firmly "Mandy? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me"

She feels a weak squeeze against her palm and gasps in relief, she hits the call button next to the bed and pulls out her phone quickly, ringing Lip.

"Lip! She squeezed my hand! She's waking up!" she says

She hears him curse and then say that he's on his way before hanging up and she then quickly texts Ian to let him know what's happening.

The doctors come in just as she begins to fight against the tube in her throat, they help remove the tube and Mandy's blue eyes fly open just as Lip barges through the door.

The doctors kick them both out, saying they need to run some more tests and they only have to wait about ten minutes before Mickey and Ian run in, panting and red faced as if they'd been running again.

"The fuck is happening?" Mickey asks

"She woke up, they toke the tube out and everything. They said they're doing some more tests but she squeezed my hand, she heard me" Fiona says trying to reassure them.

"That's good right? If she's awake, then she should be fine?" Mickey asks

"Mick…. There could be brain damage you know that. But Mandy's strong, she won't let this beat her" Ian says trying to comfort his boyfriend

They wait almost two hours before a doctor comes to them "We've just finished all of Mandy's tests and it looks like there is no permanent damage, her brain has been bruised so she will feel very sleepy and out of it for a while but as long as she keeps getting regular tests I don't see why she won't make a full recovery"

Mickey surprises everyone by grabbing the doctors hand and shaking it profusely "Thanks Doc, can we see her?"

"One at a time please, she's still very groggy and will probably be very out of it"

Mickey wastes no more time, rushing off to her room and leaving the three Gallagher's standing there.

Lip lets out a huge sigh of relief and sits down, the last few days have been emotionally exhausting for everyone. Ian and Fiona hug before Fiona goes to call Debbie and let her know what's happening. Debbie was rather fond of the Milkovich girl and Carl thought that she was badass.

"You need to sort your feelings out" Ian said, breaking the silence

"What? Ian can you just leave it for one fucking second and just be happy that she's okay?" Lip says not in the mood to have this conversation.

"No, because that's my best friend in there. She is extremely vulnerable right now and she's going to need our support to get through this. If you don't think you can do that then you need to back the fuck off"

"I'm trying okay? I just…... after Karen I don't know if I can do that again"

"Well you better fucking figure it out or stay the hell away. I mean it, I won't let her get hurt again"

He goes off to buy some balloons for Mandy from the gift shop, leaving Lip with his own thoughts.

What were his feelings for Mandy?

…..


	3. Over You

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 3

(I don't own Shameless)

…..

Mandy had been let out of the hospital a few days ago after a week in the hospital, she'd been staying at the Gallagher's just in case Kenyatta came looking for her. Lip doubted that he would with a broken leg.

She had stayed in Lip's room ever since she got home, still groggy and disorientated from the surgery and brain injury. Lip slept on the couch, not that he slept much anyway. He couldn't work out what he felt for the Milkovich girl. It was just supposed to be sex at the start, and then all that shit with Karen happened.

But somehow, at some point she had wormed her way into Lip's heart, burned into his brain and he couldn't figure out how to get her out. But that moment when she fell unconscious, when he thought she might not make it, it terrified him.

She was awake for once, propped up on pillows supporting her taped up ribs and bandaged head, she groaned as she accidently jostled her ribs and tried to sit up further. She hated lying in bed all day, hated that _he_ had done this to her. Made her this weak girl dependant on everyone else.

She'd had enough. She pulled the blankets off and carefully swung her legs off the bed. Her entire side burned with pain and her head throbbed but she pushed through it. She was a Milkovich, she had a high tolerance for pain.

She somehow manages to get on her feet, staggering slightly and holding her side and then makes her way downstairs. It takes a while for her to get down the stairs but she feels a sense of accomplishment when she does finally reach the bottom.

Lip is by her side in a second "What the fuck are you doing out of bed? You're not well Mandy, you need to rest" he scolded

"I'm sick of resting" She whines

"You just had brain surgery! Come on at least sit down on the couch" He helps her sit down next to Liam who's once again watching cartoons.

"You hungry?" he asks

"Not really, the pain medication makes me really nauseous"

He nods understandingly and then sits by her side on the couch.

"I thought you had college? Why aren't you there?" She asks

"Took a couple of days off, didn't really feel comfortable leaving you by yourself" he explains and she feels grateful for his concern.

"Thank you, for everything. I know you were there when I passed out. I don't really remember much of it but Ian filled me in"

He shifts, slightly uncomfortable "You don't have to thank me, I wasn't going to just let you fucking die"

"I know, but still, and also for letting me stay here" She manages a half smile at him

"Well I wasn't going to let you go back to that place, not when the fucker who did this to you might still be there" she winces at the mention of Kenyatta which in turn causes the bruised side of her face to erupt in pain. She groans, holding her face with her unbandaged hand.

"You okay?" he asks, immediately concerned

"Yeah just sore…. I can't believe I let this happen, I can't believe I let him do this to me" she sighs heavily and he can't take the defeated look in her eyes.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Yeah it was stupid of you to stay after the first time but that didn't give him the right to do this to you. When you're healed we'll make him pay, I promise"

She smiles at him again, letting her head rest on his shoulder and watching the cartoons play out on the screen. Soon her head begins to throb badly and Lip notices how she's clenching her jaw, eyes squeezed shut. He carries her back upstairs and helps her lie down, then giving her some of her pain medication.

She soon dozes off, dreaming about fireworks and hot summer nights.

…

Gradually Mandy recovers, within 2 weeks she's able to walk around the house and the pain begins to lessen. When she wakes up screaming from nightmares Lip comes in and stays with her until she falls asleep, sometimes he stays after she drifts off and she wakes in his arms.

Lip finds himself falling for the dark haired girl, if he hadn't already fallen that is. Things were good between them, she made him feel warm, happy and he found himself hating the days he had to go to college. He'd broken things off with Amanda, she wasn't happy but at least she didn't try and castrate him.

Mickey stayed over most nights, he'd had the locks changed at his house so Kenyatta couldn't get in and there had been no sign of him so far. The bruises of Mandy's face being to fade, turning yellow rather than the harsh purplish-black they used to be, her black eye opens up and she can smile without her lip splitting open.

It'd been 4 weeks now, her stitches came out yesterday and her scans showed there was no damage. Everyone was relieved, even Fiona. The girl had begun to grow on Fiona, despite her reservations. She saw that she made Lip happy and was grateful for anything that made him smile.

Mandy is up, making pancakes with Ian while the rest of them sleep, it still hurts to take deep breaths or walk a lot from her ribs but she manages. She hears footsteps coming down the stairs and watches as the rest of the Gallagher clan come down.

"You're making breakfast? You should be resting" Lip says, quickly kissing her cheek.

"I'm fine, I wanted to say thank you for the last few weeks" she says blushing and passing him the plate of pancakes to put on the table.

"Mandy you know what the doctor said" he reminds her as he sets the table

"I know, to take it easy. I'm making pancakes not running a fucking marathon" she rolls her eyes, concentrating on the next batch on pancakes.

The Gallagher's shout their thanks and then sit down to eat, their shouting over the table as they grab food drowning out Ian and Mandy's conversation.

"Since when is he so protective?"

She shrugs "Since I came home I guess, he's just looking out for me"

"And the kiss on the cheek? What was that about? Are you two fucking again?"

She drops her spatula at that "What? No! Jesus Ian we're just friends" she hisses, crouching down to pick up the spatula.

She forgot she left a drawer open and when she comes back up she smacks her head on it, a loud bang echoing through the room and pain exploding across the back of her head and her ribs as she hits the floor.

Lip is up in a second, rushing over "Shit! Are you okay? Damnit Mandy I told you to take it easy!" he shouts crouching down on the floor beside her.

There's a commotion as everyone is suddenly asking if she's okay, if they should call Vee.

"She hit her head, call Vee just in case" Ian says

"I'm fine, just sore and very embarrassed" Mandy says, standing up with the help of Lip

"You hit your head pretty hard, I'm going to get Vee over just to take a look at it okay? Lip get her some ice" Fiona says going and grabbing her phone

"Really guys I'm fine I just- "she's cut off by a sudden dizzy spell, making her sway on her feet. Lip catches her before she can fall.

"Whoa! I've got you, okay let's sit down" Lip says, holding her up by the arms and helping her sit down on one of the chairs.

"I'm fine it's just a bump on the head!" she argues

"You're not fine! You had brain surgery Mandy! You need to be more careful" he says, taking the ice from Ian and holding it to the back of her head.

"I'm not a child Lip, stop treating me like one" she snaps, irritated by both the pain and the tone of his voice.

"You almost died! Do you understand that? You almost _died_ Mandy so no I'm not going to stop trying to take care of you. I don't ever want to see you like that again okay? I need you to be okay"

She's shocked by his words, utterly speechless. She never thought that he would ever feel the same way as her. She thought she had lost all chance of that the moment she hit Karen Jackson with her car.

They're interrupted by Vee coming in and Lip leaves, not even bothering to look back.

Ian watches as she watches him go.

Just friends his ass.

…


	4. Latch

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 4

(I don't own Shameless)

…..

Mandy was right, she was fine. Vee had had a look at her head and said there was no damage done, her scar still holding up but that she'd probably have a bad headache for the next few days. Nothing could be done about her ribs.

As she sat down and ate breakfast with the Gallagher's she couldn't help but go through Lip's words in her head. He needed her to be okay? What did he mean by that? The last time she checked he was calling her a skank and fucking some pretty brunette bitch from college.

She moved her fork around on her plate, picking at the pancake in front of her "Mandy?" Ian called out

"Hmm?" she mumbled coming back to earth

"Why don't you go and have a nap? I know you have a headache"

She smiles and excuses herself, going up to Lip's room and laying down on her back, she fiddled with the cast on her wrist and stared up at the ceiling.

When had she let her emotions be influenced so much by the Gallagher's? Probably when she first met Ian. She couldn't just sit around and wait for him to come and talk to her. She hadn't left the house once since she came back from the hospital and she was going stir crazy.

She carefully pulls on her red coat over the stripy shirt she was wearing and the ripped up black jeans. It takes a while for her to get her boots on, wincing as she bent over to tie her laces. She called out to everyone as she went downstairs "Going for a walk"

"You sure that's a good idea?" Fiona asks sceptically

"I just need some air; I won't go far" She leaves before any of them have a chance to say otherwise.

The cold air hits her face and it feels good, she walks around not daring to go near her home or the Alibi and finds herself under the railway. Where Lip used to practice using that laser robot thing.

She sits down on the grass, taking in the first time she's been alone in the last month and a half. She thinks back to before the wedding, before all of this mess. She's been sitting there for about an hour before footsteps come up behind her.

"The fuck are you doing out here Mandy? Jesus, it's not safe!" Lip says coming over to her

"You ran off, I needed to get out of the house" she shrugs

"Kenyatta's still out there somewhere, what do you think would've happened if you ran into him? He'd kill you Mandy. C'mon, let's get you home" he says helping off the ground

They walk in silence, Lip avoiding looking at her and Mandy staring at her feet until she can't take the silence anymore.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. You shouldn't have to constantly watch over me"

"I don't mind; I do need to stop treating you like your made of glass though. You've proven that you're not" he looks up at her face before immediately looking away.

"I get it you know"

He frowns "Get what?"

"Why you can't look at me. I'm hideous, I wouldn't want to look at this either" she says gesturing to her face

"What? No Mandy that's not it at all" She snorts and rolls her eyes and he grabs her good wrist, stopping her "Mandy you're not hideous, far from it actually. That's not why I ran off before"

"Then why?"

"Because I have feelings for you okay! And that's the last thing you need right now. You need to focus on getting better"

She smiles and then gently presses her lips to his, it's nothing like their other kisses, they were all full of passion and lust. This one was sweet, gentle. Like a first kiss.

She pulls back, smiling even wider "You have no idea how long I've wanted for you to say that"

He smiles and pulls her back to him, kissing her deeply. They walk back to the house hand in hand.

Mickey is there when they get inside, he takes one look at their intertwined hands and laughs

"About fucking time"

Ian comes up behind him, placing his arm on his shoulder "My thoughts exactly"

They settle on the couch, watching some crime show Carl was interested in but neither really paying attention, his thumb running circles over the top of her hand and her head resting under his chest, against his heartbeat.

…

Eventually they go up to his room, Mandy is still recovering and is pretty worn out from all the walking, she quickly strips off, hunched over. Embarrassed by her scars, the way her body is permanently marked. How could he still want her after seeing this?

"You okay?" He asks, taking his shoes off and lying down on the bed.

"Yeah it's just…. The scars. They're ugly" she saying covering her body.

He sits up on the bed "Hey, you're beautiful Mandy. Scars or no scars. These just show how strong you are" he said but she's not completely convinced.

"So you don't find me repulsive?" She asks, voice shaking slightly

He gets up behind her and presses his lip to the highest scar near her shoulder blade, she got the scars on her back when Kenyatta threw her into her mirror. He doesn't stop until he's reached every scar before kissing the back of her head where her hair was combed over to cover the bald patch from the surgery.

She sobs when he does this, allowing herself to cry just this once for what Kenyatta had done to her. She falls asleep in his arms, his chin resting on her head and their fingers intertwined.

…..

The next few weeks are bliss, Mandy finally got her cast off and now watches Liam while Lip goes to college. He stays at college a few times a week but tries to make it home as often as he can. Mandy was worried that now she was almost completely better that she'd have to go back home, she liked it here. Sure it was loud and there was no privacy but here she felt like she was part of family.

Mickey had also practically moved in now, only going back to check on Svetlana and Yevgeny and make sure Kenyatta hadn't come back. If she went back it's be just her.

So she tries to help out around the house more, cleaning and making dinner. She makes lunches for Debbie and Carl and takes Liam to the park during the day while Fiona works. She even learned how to do laundry.

Lip is shocked when he walks into the house that day, it's not spotless but it's pretty damn close. There are no empty beer bottles on the floor and there is a basket of folded clothes on the couch.

"Wow. It is clean in here" he exclaims

'Yeah that's Mandy, she's been helping out the last few days. She even cut the crusts off on my sandwiches!" Debbie say with a smile

"Where is she?" he asks looking around

There's the sound of chopping in the kitchen and Debbie points towards it "She's making dinner"

Sure enough Mandy is standing by the stove, chopping onions and watching over a big pot.

"Hey" Lip says going over and kissing her cheek "What are you doing?" he asks, watching as she adds the onions to the pot and stirs.

"Making dinner, I had some money left over at my house and got these for a really good price" she says gesturing to the groceries next to her "I thought I'd make a big pot so Fiona doesn't have to cook for the next few nights. Hope everyone likes spaghetti"

"You went to your house? Alone? Anything happen?" he asks concerned that she may have run into her abusive ex.

She shakes her head as she continues to stir "No, he wasn't there. I'm fine Lip" she says smiling at him.

"I see you've been cleaning, I don't think it's looked this clean in a while" he says gesturing to the house.

"Yeah well I have a lot of spare time, might as well be useful" she says

"Hey, you know you don't have to do all of this? You're not the maid Mands"

"I know I just…. I want to pull my weight, I don't want anyone to think I'm a burden and send me back…. Back home"

"Hey no one is going to make you go back, and you don't have to do all of this. Your part of the family now, Debbie loves you and Carl thinks you're awesome and I know how much Fiona appreciates how you've been helping out with Liam. Plus, I don't plan on letting you go anywhere anytime soon" he says winding his arms around her waist

"Really? Because I really don't want Fiona to thi- "She's cut off by Lip quickly kissing her.

"Enough Mandy, you're not going anywhere. Now what can I help with?" he says turning to the stove.

As he stirs the pot while she chops the vegetables, Mandy can't help but think that she could get used to living at the Gallagher's.

….


	5. Run

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 5

(I don't own shameless)

….

Ian was having a bad day again, his mood was low and Mickey couldn't get him out of bed. To make matters worse Frank had come home pissed last night and was currently passed out on the couch. Fiona was internally debating on whether or not to throw a glass of water on him and wake him up but ultimately decided not to. This house had enough shit to deal with.

Mandy had gone and sat with Ian, chatting about Lip and about how Carl had almost blown up his classroom for a science project. Ian just lay there, staring at the wall and eventually Mandy retreated out of the room after kissing his head.

Lip was out at collage today but said he'd be back later and Debbie and Carl were at school. Fiona was at work so Mandy was left with Liam not that she minded. There wasn't much point of her going back to school, it wasn't like she'd ever get a decent job with her father's reputation.

At 12 she put Liam down for his nap and made Ian some lunch, a sandwich and some juice. She left it on the table next to his bed and somehow knew that when she came back 2 hours later it'd still be there, untouched.

She did the washing and tried to see if there was anything in the house that she could make into dinner, Mickey was out doing some 'work' and she really didn't want to leave Ian alone to go get groceries.

As if her prayers were answered the front door opened and Lip walked in, a tray of food from the cafeteria at his college that he'd somehow managed to nick. She smiled as he came up, placing the tray on the bench and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey" he says looking around the house "Anyone else home?"

"Liam's sleeping, Frank's on the couch and Ian is upstairs. He wasn't feeling great this morning; I think it's one of his low days" she explains turning to the tray of food.

When she lifts the foil she can see that it's a tray full of macaroni and cheese and smiles, giving Lip a kiss on the cheek "Thanks for getting dinner, I was going to go grab something but I didn't really want to leave Ian alone"

"No problem" he says looking at the stairs "He's been in bed all day? I'll go see if I can talk to him" he drops his bag onto a chair and makes his way upstairs.

Mandy turns the oven on and places the tray inside, during all of his Frank has woken up and stumbles into the kitchen "Hey you're not one of mine" he slurs slightly, pointing at Mandy

"Hi Frank" she says keeping her back to him

"I know you! You're Terry's little bitch!"

Rage shoots through Mandy at the thought of being associated with Terry, she whips around and slaps Frank across the face before she can stop herself.

"I'm no one's bitch you pathetic drunk!" She spits out.

The next thing she knows she's being slammed against the fridge, his hands around her throat, squeezing. Frank's not particularly strong and considering how hungover he is Mandy could very well fight him off but flashes of Kenyatta throwing her against her mirror, slamming her onto the floor cross her mind and she's paralysed. Trapped in her own memories resurfacing.

"you know there's this big black fella asking around for you. Offering money for you and that fag brother of yours. Maybe I should go and visit him. Let him knowing that you're giving it up to my son" he sneers, the stench of stale beer on his breath and making Mandy gag.

She couldn't go back to him! She wouldn't! She knew he'd kill her if he ever got his hands on her again and as much as it pains her to admit it she was fucking terrified of him. He'd almost killed her last time. And the Gallagher's! If Kenyatta came here they'd all be in danger, especially Lip

His hands begin to squeeze harder and she starts to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

"What the fuck! Get the fuck off of her!" she hears Lip shout and then Frank is ripped from her. She slides down the fridge, onto the floor choking and holding her throat. Ian is on the floor next to her, rubbing her back and trying to help her breathe and Lip has Frank by the collar of his shirt.

He drags him to the back door and opens it "If you ever come back here again, if you ever lay your hands on her again Frank or any of us for that matter I'll kill you" he says pushing his out the door and locking it so Frank couldn't get back inside.

He goes over to where Mandy is sitting in the floor "Mands? You okay? Did he hurt you?" he asks grabbing her face gently and checking her over. She'd have pretty nasty bruises on her neck later on and a killer headache was now forming but otherwise she was okay.

"Ken-Kenyatta…... he's looking for me, offering money" she chokes out, Lip and Ian glance at each other. They know that this isn't good but they don't want to freak out Mandy even more.

"It's okay, Mandy he's not going to come near you again alright? I won't let him near you" Lip says comfortingly.

She gets up off of the floor "Mandy where are you going?" Ian asks

"To pack" she replies, as if it's that simple. Kenyatta would come here sooner or later; she couldn't risk getting her new family hurt.

"The fuck you are! You're not going anywhere!" Lip says, outraged that she would think that was even an option.

"He's going to come here eventually, sooner now that Franks knows. I'm not going to put your family in danger" she says turning and heading for the stairs. Lip rushes after her and gets in front of her.

"You're not going anywhere!" he argues

"What about Liam? Carl? Debbie? You really want me to stay and put them in danger?" She shouts, why couldn't he see that this was for the best?

"We'll figure it out, I'll talk to your brother. W-we can find a way to put him in jail, plant some shit on him. You're not leaving Mandy he'll kill you" he uncharacteristically begs, grabbing her shoulders and trying to talk sense into her

"Better me than one of you" she shrugs

"Don't you fucking say that! You think any of us would be okay if you died? Mickey? It'd kill him, he'd go to jail for killing that fucker you know he would. And Ian? He's your best friend, it'd break his heart. Me? What about me? For fucks sake I love you Mandy! You really think I'd be better off if you died?" he continues to rant but she's stopped listening after 'I love you'.

Eventually he's stopped shouting, red faced and panting and she smiles softly, slowly going up to him and placing her hands on his face "You love me?" she asks softly

"Yeah I do, so you have to stay Mandy. I can't lose you" she gently presses her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ian decides to go back upstairs, not wanting to intrude on such a private moment and leaves the two young lovers downstairs.

Maybe today wasn't a bad of a day as he thought.

…..

Next chapter will have more Mickey I promise!


	6. The Rest of My Life

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 6

…

The day had started out so well

Mandy had gotten up earlier, it was her birthday today. 18 fucking years old. She hadn't told anyone, the only one who knew was Mickey who was sleeping soundly in Ian's bed.

She'd gotten started on the pancakes while simultaneously making the sandwiches for the kids lunches, humming some shitty song she'd heard the other day while she spread peanut butter on bread and flipped pancakes.

Eventually Fiona came downstairs, Liam on her hip "You up already? And you've made lunches, thanks Mandy!" she says, putting Liam in his high chair and giving Mandy's shoulder a squeeze. The two girls had gotten a lot closer over the last few months and while they weren't best friends she appreciated Mandy's help and thought she was good for Lip.

Debbie and Carl came down soon after, happily helping themselves to breakfast and chatting while Fiona fed Liam little pieces of his pancakes. Lip came down after, wrapping his arms around Mandy's waist and kissing her neck

"Morning" he mumbled against her, making her smile as his breath tickled her neck. Yep this birthday was going to be the best yet, she thought as she handed him a plate of pancakes.

Mickey and Ian were the last to come down, Mickey coming over and punching her arm lightly "Morning birthday girl" he said making her groan as 5 sets of eyes looked up at her.

"It's your birthday?" Ian asked astonished that she hadn't even mentioned it.

"Yeah, I'm 18 today. It's not a big deal" she said shrugging and continuing to make breakfast

Lip gets up from the table, coming over to her "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it's not a big deal, we never really celebrated them at my house and there's no reason to start now, I'm not a kid Lip" she says as if that explains everything

"We'll do something when I get back tonight" He says and she rolls her eyes

"Ok whatever" she says nonchalantly

The kids soon head off to school and Lip and Fiona to college and work leaving Mandy with Liam, Mickey and Ian. Mickey slipped a small box over to her while she was cleaning up after breakfast, it was small and black and had a black ribbon tied around it.

"Mickey, you know you didn't have to. I thought we didn't do presents" she says as she picks up the box and undoes the ribbon. When she opened the box she lets out a small gasp, it was one of the only things they had left of their mother's after she died.

A small silver locket on a thin chain, a rose engraved on the locket. The last time she had seen this the chain had been broken and the metal was far less shiny "I got it fixed up for you, thought you'd like it" he says and despite the both of them being Milkoviches she pulls him into a hug.

"Thank you Mick I love it" she says putting the necklace on with a smile.

Mickey eventually has to leave to go do some 'work' and Ian goes back upstairs and Mandy settles with Liam on the couch, watching the Looney tunes on the TV. She feels a buzz against her hip and pulls out her phone. A text from Lip is on the screen

 _Don't make dinner I'm bringing something home._

She smiles and puts her phone back in her pocket, watching as Liam laughs at something on the TV. He was so innocent, so unaware of how harsh life could be. She could imagine watching her own child grow, watching as he or she learned to walk and talk, hearing _them_ laugh. She shook the thought out of her head, the last thing she needed right now was a baby.

Eventually Liam had to go down for his nap and Mandy started to clean up, doing a load of laundry before deciding to try and tidy up the lounge room. She managed to get rid of all the dirty dishes and empty beer cans and even found a fiver down the side of the couch before going upstairs to catch a quick shower.

Once she was clean and dressed she got Liam up from his nap and took him back downstairs, getting his lunch ready, he laughed as she made silly faces trying to get him to eat the leftover casserole from two nights ago. After she was satisfied that he's eaten enough she got him out, placing him on her hip "Are you going crazy cooped up in here Liam?" she asked

He just giggled and reached his hand up to touch her face.

That was it, she'd had enough. She managed to get out his stroller and took him outside for a walk, writing a note for Ian. They ended up at the park, Liam reaching his arms out when he saw the slide. They spent a good hour there, Mandy relishing being outside for once before deciding to head back.

On the way back she got the strangest feeling that someone was watching her but when she looked around there was no one there. She shrugged it off as being paranoid, certain things freaked her out sometimes after the incident like loud banging noises or the sound of glass smashing.

Lip was already back by the time she got home, she greeted him a kiss and then smiled at the sight of a tray of cooked vegetables and chicken he'd gotten from the cafeteria. He pulled out a small box from behind him and she quirked her eyebrow.

"It's just something small, kinda cheap but I wanted to get you something" he says handing her the box.

Inside is a simple bracelet, a thin silver chain with a daisy charm hanging off of it. She breaks into a smile and wraps her arms around him

"I love it! But you didn't have to get me anything, this birthday is already better than any other I can remember" she says planting a kiss on him.

He's about to put the bracelet on her thin wrist when the door slams open.

Kenyatta bursts into the house, Mandy freezes at the sight of him and Lip pulls her slightly behind him.

"The fuck are you doing in my house?" he yells, furious that the man who hurt Mandy was in his house

"Should have known the slut was shacking up here" It's obvious that Kenyatta is slightly drunk, he's slurring a little but that doesn't make this situation any less terrifying.

He starts to move towards them and Lip takes a step back, pushing Mandy back even further "You're not coming anywhere near her"

"Who's going to stop me? You?" he laughs at the thought of the smaller boy being of any threat "You fucking him again you pathetic slut? Should've killed you when I had the chance, c'mon we're going home" he says gesturing for her to come with him

"She's not going anywhere with you dickwad!" Lip shouts pulling Mandy closer

Kenyatta charges at them, knocking Lip over and onto the floor, he gives him a good couple of kicks to the stomach before turning to Mandy "I'm not asking again Mandy! Let's go!" he shouts making a move to grab her.

Mandy backs away from him, frozen in fear at being touched by him again "What? You want to stay here and play house with that tool? You know he can't love you like I can, can't fuck you like I can. Maybe you need a reminder" he says grabbing her wrist

"You fucking lay your hands on her and I'll kill you" Lip snarls, groaning as he gets off the floor, Ian has come downstairs at some point during the commotion and with the both of them they manage to rip him away from Mandy, Lip pulling her into his arms.

Kenyatta feels rage shoot through him at the thought of losing to that bitch and the fucking Gallagher's of all people, he pulls the gun he had in his jacket pocket out and aims it at the man who stole his woman away. Mandy's body seems to move before her mind can even fully process what's happening, shoving herself in front of Lip.

A shot rings out just as Ian tackles Kenyatta to the floor.

Mandy stands there in shock, a hand clasped over her stomach. It didn't even hurt. Wasn't it supposed to hurt? Lip turns to her just as she pulls her hand away, crimson blood coating her hand and a red stain blooming across her blue shirt.

Her legs buckle and Lip catches her before she can hit the floor, lowering them both to the floor and pulling her into his lap "Fuck! Oh god! Mandy, Mandy it's ok! I've got you! Ian call an ambulance!" he yells, pressing his hand against the wound and trying not to vomit at the feel of her blood warm against his palm.

Mandy is gasping, her eyes looking up at him terrified while she struggles to breathe "You're going to be fine Mands, help is coming just hold on" he says

"Lip…. I-I love you" she gasps out

He shakes his head, tears burning his eyes furiously "No don't you dare, don't you fucking dare Mandy! Don't say goodbye! You're going to be fine"

"Tell…. Mickey that I love him….and that he was…... a good brother" she starts to cough, blood coming up in her mouth

"You can tell him yourself Mandy because you're not going to die you hear me? You are going to be fine"

She smiles a bloody smile at him, blood staining her teeth as she struggles to stay awake "It's ok Lip…... it's okay, you're here… it's p-perfect"

"Mandy stop it, c'mon you gotta stay with me. Please Mandy" he begs, tears slipping from his eyes.

She gives his one last smile before she goes slack in his arms, her eyes fluttering shut.

"Mandy? Mandy! Mandy c'mon on open your eyes! Mandy wake up please!" he begs jut as the paramedics burst in.

He gets a sense of déjà vu as they pull her limp body away from him, placing her on a stretcher and then rushing away from her. Kenyatta is knocked out of the floor, Ian must have done it after he'd shot her.

Someone helps him off the floor, says something about going to the hospital, he's vaguely aware of the blood on his hands as they make their way to the hospital. He makes it outside before he passes out.

…


	7. Your Love Is My Drug

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 7

…..

Lip was on his bed, he could feel the lumps of the mattress prodding into his back, the itchy blanket that he always kicks off over him. He opens his eyes to see his room, Fiona is sitting on the bed and perks up when she sees him coming to.

"Lip! I'm so glad you're awake" she gasps

"What happened?" Lip asks, his head still swimming slightly, there's an odd smell in his room, one he recognises but can't put his finger on.

Fiona's smile falters when he speaks and he can see her hesitate to speak "Lip…. You don't remember?"

The smell is getting stronger now and when he looks down he can see reddish brown stains on his clothes, it's blood. The sound of a gunshot echoes through his head as well as his voice pleading with someone to stay and it all rushes back to him. Fiona has to hold him back to stop him from leaping off the bed.

"Mandy! Oh god Mandy! Is she ok? Where is she? Fiona please I have to see her!" he begs desperately, trying to push past her again.

"She's still in surgery, you've only been out for a few hours. Ian says the doctors are optimistic she'll make it through" Fiona explains calmly

"I've got to go see her, I need to be there Fiona!" he says getting up again, feeling a little dizzy and holding onto the wall for support.

"Lip! You need to take it easy, you've been through something traumatic. You need to give your body time to recover"

"Fuck recovering! I need to get to that hospital Fi, she needs me there!" he says pulling on his shoes and racing out of the door. Fiona realising there's no negotiating with him takes Liam and goes after him and they rush to the hospital together.

Ian and Mickey are sitting in the waiting room, Ian's leg in bouncing up and down with anxiety and Mickey is clenching and unclenching his fists to calm himself. Lip immediately goes over to them and they both stare at him in horror. When he looks down he sees why, his clothes are stained a reddish brown hue, he's covered in Mandy's blood.

"You wouldn't listen when I tried to tell you!" Fiona snaps, adjusting Liam on her hip.

"How is she?" Lip asks sitting by Ian

"Still in surgery, but the doctor seems optimistic. You ok?" he asks

"Think it was just the shock, there was so much blood. I don't know what I'm going to do if she's not okay" he says running his hands through his hair.

"Don't fucking speak like that! That's my sister in there, she's tougher than all of us combined. She won't let a stupid bullet wound be the end of her" Mickey snaps

"He's right, I'm sure Mandy will be just fine" Fiona tries to reassure him but Lip can't stand the waiting. He begins to pace, biting his nails as he walks. His hands still smell of rust despite Fiona washing them when he was out of it and the second that he knows Mandy's going to be okay he wants to go and have a shower and scrubs the scent of blood off of him.

Eventually Fiona has to go home, Carl and Debbie would be home by now and she needed to try and get the blood out of the floor. The doctor comes out about an hour after that "Family of Amanda Milkovich?"

They all rush to the doctor "I'm her brother" Mickey says

"Mandy is in a stable condition, we managed to stop the bleeding and repair the damage and she should be waking from the anaesthetic soon. I want to keep her in for a few days for observation and she'll be sore from the stitches so she'll have to be on bed rest for the next few weeks but I'm confident she'll make a full recovery. I'll take you back to see her if you'd like"

Mickey nods and goes back with the doctor while Ian and Lip sit down, sighing with relief. They take turns seeing her, Lip goes last so he can spend the night and she is still sleeping when he goes in. A flashback from when she was in the coma appears in his head and he shakes it off. She looks better than the last time, only a few wires and IV's and an oxygen tube running under her nose.

He takes her hand and sits down on the chair next to her "Hey, you really fucking scared me back there you know. I thought I was going to lose you. Kenyatta's been arrested, even if he gets out Mickey will kill him, and I'll help. I need you to wake up soon Mands. I love you" he presses a kiss to her head and settles into the chair, waiting for any sign of her regaining consciousness.

It takes another hour before her eyes start to flutter open, she groans as she blinks rapidly, adjusting to the light in the room.

"Hey you're awake! Thank God" he says kissing her forehead

"Sore" She rasps out, her throat dry, he grabs the cup of water from the bedside table and helps her sip it "Thanks"

"I'll go get the doctor" he says getting up to go and get some help.

"No"

"but you're in pain, they can help"

"Please…just stay…. just for a minute" she croaks and he begrudgingly agrees, sitting on the bed beside her.

"I'm so glad you're okay" he says fiddling with her hand.

"I'm sorry if I scared you" she rasps

"hey it's not your fault, it's that fucking psycho's that shot you. He's going to prison now, it's over" he reassures her

"That's good t-to hear OW!" she cries out as she tries to push herself into a sitting position. He quickly helps her lie back down and pushes the call button on the side of the bed.

A nurse comes in and once she sees that Mandy is awake she does some necessary check-ups before giving her some more pain relief. It only takes a few minutes to kick in and Mandy begins to smile giddily at Lip.

"What?" he asks amused by the look on her face

"It feels like I'm lying on a cloud of cotton candy. Oh! We should get some later?" she shouts and Lip can't stop himself form laughing.

"Okay Mands, whatever you want"

"This hasn't been the worst birthday ever you know"

"You got shot" he pointed out and she attempted to shrug, the drugs making her movements sloppy.

"Yeah that sucked…. But I got to spend time with you! And Ian and Mickey and Fiona and Debbie and Carl and Little Liam so it was okay" she responds, a loopy look in her eyes

"Maybe you should try and get some sleep" he says, trying to reason with her

"M'kay, I love you" she smiles before shutting her eyes.

"I love you too. Even when you're high"

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


	8. Let It All Go

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 8

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ian groaned as he was woken to the sound of fighting once again, Mandy had come home from the hospital months ago and at first everything went back to normal. But then over time she and Lip began to fight, first it was over the fact that Mandy refused to see someone after she would wake up screaming, thinking Kenyatta was coming for her. They made up pretty quickly and Mandy would talk with Ian or Lip whenever she felt overwhelmed.

Then it was because she went out for a walk without telling anyone and Lip freaked out when he couldn't find her, thinking one of Kenyatta's friends had taken her. That took a few days to resolve and when it did Ian stayed at Mickey's that night, not wanting to hear them 'make up'.

But these last few fights were the worst by far, Lip had taken to going out drinking or partying with college friends and coming home late at night completely pissed if he did make it home. Ian would find Mandy sitting on her bed at 2am, clutching her phone with a death grip and mascara stains on her cheeks.

"What's the big deal? So, I went out and had some fun. Since when were you such a fucking buzzkill?" Lip groaned, the tone of his voice suggesting he was nursing a massive hangover.

"The big deal is that you didn't come home last night and there are lipstick stains on your shirt. I didn't know if you were okay, I didn't know if you lying dead somewhere. You could have at least fucking called!" Mandy shouted, Ian could imagine her, arms flailing in the air as she shouted.

"God Mandy can you please just shut the fuck up? My head is killing me and the last thing I need right now is you shrieking like a banshee"

"Oh well if I'm being such an inconvenience to you maybe I should just leave!"

"maybe you should!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Ian could hear her stomping out of their room and peeked his head out, she was obviously upset, hurriedly grabbing her bag as she wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. She looked up and their eyes met for a second, he gave her a sympathetic smile. She tried to muster up one but it looked more like a grimace before rushing down the stairs and out the front door slamming it on her way out.

Ian sighed before going into their room, Lip had his head under the covers and the lights were off.

"She doesn't deserve this" he said going over to the bed.

"Just leave me the fuck alone Ian" Lip groaned from under the covers.

"No, because she is my best friend and you're fucking around with her. She took a fucking bullet for you man, she loves so much she was willing to die for you"

Lip shoves the covers off violently "You think I don't know that? You think that I don't see her bleeding out in my arms every time I see that scar on her stomach or hear her scream at night? It's _all_ I can think about"

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm scared okay! I… I thought she was going to die and the thought of losing her… it was too much to bear. I-I can't do that again, I can't lose her" Lip says, his eyes sting with unshed tears and for a second he can feel her blood on his hands again.

"But you are. You are losing her. Every time you do this, every time you push her away you are losing her. One day she's not going to come back" Ian says, sitting on the bed beside Lip.

Lip lets out a small laugh "Since when are you a fucking love expert?"

"I am a gay bipolar man living on the Southside and my boyfriend is a criminal who only recently came out of the closet and has a wife and son on the side. Your problems are miniscule compared to the shitstorm that is my love life" Ian chuckles, patting him on the back "Have a sleep, get over your hangover and then apologise when she comes home"

"Thanks man" Lip says as Ian gets up

"No problem, just don't fuck things up with her" Ian says with a smirk as he leaves the room.

Lip lays back on the bed, thinking of how to apologise until he drifts off to sleep.

…..

Mandy stormed off, furious at Lip. She had had enough of his bullshit, acting like an overprotective boyfriend one minute and like he couldn't give a shit the next. She walked the streets, not really noticing where she was going until she stopped by her old house. She thankfully still had her keys in her bag and when she entered the house was empty, Svetlana must have taken Yevgeny out somewhere.

The carpet hadn't been changed. That was the first thing she noticed when she went into her room for the first time since the assault. There was a brownish red stain on the floor from when he had smashed her into the mirror and her back had been cut up from the glass. The mirror was gone, just like most of her things from Mickey collecting them when she moved into the Gallagher house.

She brushed her hand against the rail of her bed and shuddered at the bad memories this room brought. Kenyatta beating her for things that weren't her fault, Terry coming into her room late at night drunk and stumbling into her bed, Lip calling her a skank and her punching him.

Would she have to come back and live in this room of horrors again? No, she thought. Even if Lip kicked her out she wouldn't come back here, there was nothing left for her here. She'd find somewhere new; she could handle roughing it out on the streets for a little bit until she did. It wouldn't be the first time she slept on the pavement.

Eventually Svetlana came back, Yevgeny on one hip while a small bag of groceries on the other all while balancing with the large bump she was now beginning to show. Mickey had told her something about Svetlana being a surrogate.

She cooed hello to Yevgeny, laughing as the baby waved one chubby fist and stroked his blonde hair. Mickey was slowly, very slowly warming up to being a father. Ian enjoyed being around Yev though and babysat whenever Svetlana had things to do and Mickey was working.

She quickly greeted Svetlana with a smile before grabbing her bag and leaving again, the last thing she wanted to do was talk about her relationship troubles with her brother's wife/beard. She groaned as the wind hit her, pulling her jacket around her tighter. She was so mad she forgot to grab her thicker coat and winter was especially harsh this year.

She walked around for a bit, past the Alibi where she ran into Frank who was stumbling out of it, obviously off his face. She walked past the place where they had set off fireworks one night, the patch of grass still burnt from the fireworks. She even went past Karen's old place and felt a hint of remorse for how she had ruined the girl's life.

It was getting dark now and she started to make her way back to the Gallagher house. On the way, there she began to zone out, the cold and tiredness getting to her. She was knocked out of this state when she collided with someone, the other person grabbing her arm to steady themselves.

"Shit! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention" she apologizes looking to the person she had ran into.

"Mandy?" the hand tightens around her arm and she freezes.

It's one of Terry's friends.

…..

Lip woke up with a slightly less pounding headache, he rubbed his bleary eyes and sat up, confused for a second about what had occurred earlier. Until he glanced at one of Mandy's tops on the floor and he remembered the fight, he also remembered the advice Ian had given him and groaned. He began to think of how he should apologise to her, it was dark now so she should be back by now hopefully a little cooled off.

He pulled on some clothes and made his way downstairs, fully expecting Mandy to be sitting on the couch next to Liam watching cartoons or helping Fiona in the kitchen. But she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Where's Mandy?" he asked Fiona, going into the kitchen. She frowns and turns to him, wiping her hands on a towel.

"I thought she must have snuck back upstairs with you" she says

"So she hasn't come home yet?" he asks, feeling more and more anxious by the minute "Shit!"

"What's going on?" Ian asks coming in from the loungeroom.

"Mandy hasn't come home yet" Fiona explains as Lip rubs the back of his neck

Ian frowns, pulling out his phone "I'll try calling her" he said putting it to his ear. The phone rings out and he greeted by Mandy's voicemail telling him to leave a message "She's not picking up"

Lip curses loudly and goes to grab his jacket "I've got to go look for her"

"I'll come with you" Ian says going to grab his too "I'll call Mickey and see if she's spoken with him"

They both rush out in the brisk winter air, Ian is talking to a frantic Mickey who states that he hasn't seen Mandy since last night which only makes them pick up their pace. They go past the alibi, checking just to make sure she's not there's trying to forget by drowning her sorrows with alcohol. She's not there and Kev and Vee both say they haven't seen her around only adding to their worry.

Lip tries calling her now and she picks up on the 5th ring.

"L-Lip?" she breathes into the phone, her voice shaking.

"Mandy? Mandy where are you? Are you ok? Why the fuck haven't you been answering your phone?" Lip shouts, rushing out of the bar.

"C-Couldn't… It's okay…I-I'm on the way home now"

"What street are you on?"

"Uh….Parker avenue"

"Ok I know where that is, just stay there. Ian and I are going to meet you there"

"O-okay… I'll see you soon"

"Okay bye" he says hanging up. He quickly explains what's going on to Ian and they sprint to where Mandy is. She's easy to spot, dark hair blowing in the wind and her small body hunched over to try and protect herself from the cold.

"Mandy!" Lip shouts, rushing up to her, he realises she's shivering from the cold when he embraces her and when he looks down it is only then does he notices the blood on her hands and clothes. He immediately starts to panic, searching for the wound causing all the blood, flashbacks of her bleeding out in his arms crossing his mind.

Her shaky hands still his "I-it's ok…not mine" she says just as her knees buckle. He catches her before she can hit the ground and they both rush her back to the house, Ian running ahead and grabbing some blankets to help warm her up.

"Do you think we should call Vee?" Fiona asks as they set her down on the couch.

"I-I-I'm f-fine, r-really" Mandy stammers, teeth chattering

"Here we go!" Ian shouts, handing the blankets over to Lip who immediately wraps them around Mandy, rubbing up and down her arms to try and provide some warmth.

Her lip is busted and there is a nasty bruise blossoming across her right cheekbone but she seems otherwise okay physically. Mentally Lip is not so sure; her hands shake as Fiona starts to wipe of the blood on her hands and there is this panicked look in her eyes.

"Mandy what happened?" he asks as he tries to comfort her

"H-he tried to grab me. I-I lost it… I don't- I don't know what happened" she breaks down, her breaths becoming short and panicked.

He notices the cuts and scrapes on her hands when Fiona wipes off the dried blood and although he so desperately doesn't want to he has to ask "Did you kill someone?"

She sucks in a sharp breath "N-No, definitely landed a f-few hits but the bastard is still breathing"

"Who? Who did you hit?" Ian asks placing a hand on her shoulder as a gesture of comfort.

"Uh… his name is M-Max. He's one of Terry's friends" she stumbles on her words, bad memories obviously flashing through her head.

"Your dad? Did he send him after you?" Ian asks immediately thinking of Mickey and if he was in danger too.

"N-No he said he had news… M-my dad is getting out" she says, fidgeting with the daisy chain on her bracelet to stop her hands from shaking "He said he knew where I'd been staying… that he wouldn't tell Terry if I slept with him and then he…. He tried to..." she stops, her breaths shuddering as Lip curses.

"Did… Did he?" Fiona hesitates, not wanting to finish the sentence, it was too horrible to think about.

"N-No" Mandy says, wiping her eyes "He tried to put his hand up my skirt and I… I just lost it"

"It's okay, it's all going to be okay" Lip says as he comforts his banged-up girlfriend "C'mon, let's get you upstairs and into bed"

Mandy nods and he helps her up, taking her upstairs to their room. He helps her get changed, stiffening when he sees the bruises on her forearms and thighs from where he had grabbed her. She notices and gently cups his face with her hands, reassuring him with her touch that she was okay.

He surprises her by suddenly pulling her forward, wrapping his arms around her as he presses kisses to the side of her face. She's too stunned to move for a few seconds, he's not usually this overly affectionate.

"I'm sorry" he mutters as he presses a kiss to her temple while she curls her fingers into his hair

"It's okay" she hushes him, trying to calm him down "I'm okay"

"I love you. I love you so fucking much"

"I know, I love you too" she whispers as he stops kissing her, instead just standing there inhaling the scent of her shampoo and the sweet perfume she wears.

"I didn't fuck around on you I promise; the lipsticks stains were just from some drunk girl who fell on top of me. And I woke up at college, must have crashed there for the night"

"Okay, I believe you baby"

"I'm so sorry"

"Lip it's okay, I'm fine"

"But I-"

"I'm fine, c'mon baby let's just go to bed." She says, pulling him towards their bed. They settle in together and drift off in each other's arms, the rest could be dealt with tomorrow.

…


	9. All of Me

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 9

….

"Okay so how do we get rid of Terry?" Lip asked as he, Ian, Mandy, Mickey and Fiona sat around the table. Although she would never admit it Lip could see that Mandy was terrified so he called a sort of meeting to figure out how they could keep him away.

"You know me, I would love to kill that son of a bitch but I don't like the idea of dragging you all into it" Mickey said as he tried to ignore the feeling of terror creeping through his chest "Besides the fucker would probably kill me the moment he saw me after what I pulled at the Alibi"

"We could try and plant something on him, get him caught breaking his parole" Fiona interjected

"Nah if he got caught he'd just drag the rest of us down with him. He'd say we were involved somehow"

"Could we pay him off?"

"We don't exactly have the money for that and besides, no amount of money will stop him if he thinks he's been wronged "

Ian noticed that Mandy had been quite the whole time, curled up in a chair next to Lip "Mandy? You okay?" he whispers

"Max knows where I live, when Terry gets out he's going to come here. I can't live here anymore, I'm going to move out" she explains and Ian stands up abruptly

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he yells attracting everyone's attention.

"Hey! What's going on? Why are you yelling at her?" Lip shouts, defending his girlfriend

"She's leaving!" Ian yells, raising his hands in the air in frustration.

"What do you mean she's leaving?" Lip asks, turning to face Mandy "Mands? Mandy look at me, what is he talking about?" he asked, taking her face in his hands

"I just…I think it would be better if I stayed elsewhere, just until this is over"

"Like hell you are! You're not going anywhere, we already discussed this Mandy"

"well that was before I knew Terry was getting out! You don't get it!" she yells getting up

"Well then explain it to us"

"I can't let him near you guys! You don't understand, I've seen the way my dad looks at Debbie. I can't let him do what he did to me to anyone else" Mandy shouts, angry tears filling her eyes.

Mickey stands up abruptly, his chair hitting the ground from the speed and force he used "Wait what are you talking about? What did he do to you?"

Ian frowns, confused and Lip is too busy focusing on Mandy who is standing frozen in the kitchen to notice. Fiona didn't know what had happened but figured it must have been bad for Mandy to be freaking out like this.

Ian finally speaks up, slowly standing up and gently gripping Mickey's forearm "Mick…. He used to rape her"

Mandy lets out a shuddering breath, closing her eyes as memories of her father stumbling into her room drunk at night flash through her mind.

Mickey inhales sharply hissing a curse under his breath as he takes this in. Fiona silently wipes her wet cheeks as she looks at the girl who is breaking down in her kitchen, no wonder she always had a guard up, who wouldn't after something like that?

"Why the fuck wouldn't you tell me?! What the fuck Mandy! Why did everyone else know but not me?" Mickey yells and Mandy flinches, moving away, still stuck in her bad memories.

"And you Ian? How could you not tell me?"

"I thought you knew! I had no idea you didn't"

"I need to get out of here, I need to clear my fucking head before I kill someone" Mickey snaps, grabbing his jacket and storming off, slamming the door as he goes.

Mandy snaps out of it when she hears the door slam and immediately rushes upstairs to pack her things, Lip shouting after her.

"Mandy! Mandy stop!" he yells as she starts to throw her things onto the bed. He grabs her wrists to stop her from taking anything else out "You're not going anywhere"

She pushes him off her "You're not the fucking boss of me Lip now move!" she shouts, trying to get to the dresser he was blocking.

"No!"

"Lip move!"

"You're not just fucking leaving Mandy"

"You don't get it, do you? My _dad_ is getting out of jail Lip! And when he does this is the first place he'll come, if he's willing to hurt me fuck knows what he'd do to you, or Ian, or Fiona, or Debbie. I can't let him hurt you" Mandy shouts, angry tears hitting her cheeks

"Then we'll figure something out, we'll get him back in jail or hell we'll get someone to kill him. God knows he deserves it after what he did to you and Mickey" Lip says trying to reason with her.

"I can't let you put yourself at risk like that"

"But it's okay for you to fucking jump in front of a bullet for me Mands? It's okay for you to get hurt?"

"You don't understand!"

"Then talk to me!"

"It's my fucking fault! I ran off and Max knows where I live and everything's fucked. You're all in danger now and it's all my fault" she said, breaking down

Lip takes her into his arms, brushing her hair away and kissing the side of her head as she cried "No, this is not your fault, Mands, look at me! None of this is your fault and you are not going anywhere"

"But I"

"No, you're not going anywhere Mandy, especially not when that psychopath is getting out. You're family, family protects each other" he says, cutting off any further protests with a kiss, "You know, I wasn't going to do this till another day. I wanted it to be special" he says, grabbing an item from his desk "but I want to show you how serious I am about this"

He holds out his palm flat, there in the middle was a ring. Mandy gasps, sitting down on the bed, looking at Lip, completely bewildered. He smiles and sits next to her, holding up the ring with his fingers. It was fairly simple, just a silver band with a tiny round gem in the middle.

"I want to wake up every day next to you Mands, I want to be there in sickness and in health and all that shit. You're my soulmate, my better half, the person who makes me actually want to try in this retched world. So, I'm asking you, marry me?" Mandy knows it's coming but still inhales sharply when she hears those words.

It only takes her a few seconds before she on top of him, smothering him in kisses. Lip laughs loudly, a sound she's found that she loved and gently pushes her back "Jesus fuck woman, does that mean yes?"

"Yes!" she cries, happily laughing and bringing his face to hers. He slips the ring on when they pull apart, smiling as it fits perfectly on her left ring finger.

"I know it's small but when I start earning more I can get you a bigger one" she smiles and hushes him.

"Lip, It's perfect. I wouldn't trade it for anything" she says, bringing her hand to her chest "I can't wait to tell everyone!" she says giddily, almost ready to jump off the bed and spring downstairs when he pulls her back on the bed.

"Fuck no, I want to celebrate with my fiancé first" he says, kissing the side of her neck and making her shiver.

Their lovemaking isn't like what it usually is, still amazing it always was but this time instead of raw passion that was over quickly and left them both with bruises they took their time, gently kissing and caressing until they both couldn't take it anymore.

He collapses on the bed next to him when they're done, his heart still pounding as he lazily draws patterns on her back with his fingertips. Her hand is on his chest and he can see a glint from the ring on her finger as they lay they, filling with an almost unbearable sense of happiness.

"So, I guess you're staying then?" he mumbles sleepily and she yawns, curling up against him.

"Yep, you're stuck with me now" she says and he pulls her closer, kissing her temple.

"That sounds good to me"


	10. Faded

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 10

…..

It was amazing how quick Mandy, Fiona, Vee and Debbie had organized the wedding, of course the budget was pretty low so they only had to organise a minister and a few other things but four weeks later they were getting prepared for the big day.

Mandy had managed to find a clean enough dress at a charity shop and had spent the last two days scrubbing and bleaching it to get the last spots of god knows what out. It wasn't long, only reaching just above her knees and had a v neckline, tasteful enough for a wedding but still enough for it to still be Mandy's style. It had two thin straps and a lace overlay, she kept her wavy black hair down and Debbie made her a flower crown with some flowers she had stolen from a nearby florist. She wore some navy-blue platform heels for her 'something blue'.

Lip had one nice-ish suit jacket that he wore with his cleanest white shirt and black pants, Fiona had bought him a dark blue tie that Ian helped him tie, not mentioning that he was going to match Mandy. They'd bought some decent plain silver rings for the ceremony which Ian had in his pocket and were now standing inside the courthouse with the rest of the Gallagher clan, plus Mickey and Kev and minus the girls.

Mickey quickly headed outside when the girls arrived, insisting on giving his sister away, much to her chagrin. There was no music playing when he lead her over to Lip, no flowers except for the small bouquet of daisies Debbie had 'found', but none of that mattered when they first locked eyes.

They chose not to write their own vows, both already knowing there's nothing the other wouldn't do for them. They exchanged rings, made their vows and finally were pronounced one, meeting in the middle for a deep kiss while their family cheered in the background.

They celebrated at the Alibi, Fiona had bought a small cake while Lip and Mandy were dancing along to 'Time After Time' by Quietdrive. Someone had managed to find a camera and they even got some snaps of the happy couple for reminders.

Everybody was too busy celebrating to notice a familiar face slipping out of the bar.

They were getting into the first chorus of 'Thinking out Loud' when the explosion went off.

/

Fiona was one of the first to wake, coughing as she struggled to sit up. A crying Liam was by her side but thankfully not hurt so she picked him up and started to look for the rest of her younger siblings. Patrons of the bar were slowly filing out with a bruised-up Kev and Vee, smoke and ash filling the air more with every second, she found Debbie behind a chair, clutching her arm which looked broken and Carl was a few metres away, a cut on his head and probably a sprained ankle at least from the way he was slouching.

She quickly helped them outside, sitting Liam down with them and pressing kisses to their cheeks before going back inside to look again.

"Lip?! Ian?! Can anyone hear me?!" she yelled out, pushing past broken chairs and tables. She found Ian next to Mickey who looked like he was only just coming around "You okay?" she asked, gently grabbing Ian's shoulder.

"Yeah, probably just bruises. Mickey might have a dislocated shoulder" he says, coughing into his hand "Is everyone else ok?"

"The kids are outside, broken bones I think but I can't find Lip or Mandy"

Mickey perks up when he hears the mention of his sister "Mands? Where is she? Where's Mandy?" he slurred, trying to sit up

"He's probably concussed, get him outside to Vee. I'll find them" she says.

Ian hesitantly nods before helping his injured boyfriend outside. Fiona watches them leave and then turns back around, coughing into her arm before yelling out again "LIP! MANDY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

She keeps looking until a high-pitched shriek breaks through the air, she immediately starts moving towards the sound, following the sound of someone sobbing.

Mandy is perched over an unconscious Lip, pressing her hands against his head which was covered in blood "Please, please don't do this. Please wake up"

"Mandy? Oh my god" Fiona exclaims, kneeling next to her younger brother "We need to get him out of here" she says to the blood stained bride.

They both manage to half-carry, half-drag him out, Mandy screaming for help the second they meet fresh air. She stays by his side as the paramedics arrive, jumping into the ambulance with him without a second thought.

They're separated once they arrive at the hospital, nurses pulling her away and insisting she get checked out. She watches as they race him off to surgery, completely hopeless as the nurses tug her further and further away from her husband of only a few hours.

…..

Hours later when everyone had been patched up they all gathered in the waiting room, waiting for news on Lip. Mandy sat by Ian and Mickey, biting the skin of her thumb off as she anxiously waited for news. Debbie and Carl sat with Fiona who had Liam on her lap, sleeping amongst the chaos.

"He's going to be fine Mands" Ian says, taking her thumb from her mouth with one hand while supporting his concussed boyfriend on the other side.

"We've only been married a few hours Ian, I can't only get hours with him. I can't"

"You won't, you're going to have a long and happyish life together with lots of foul mouthed kids and lots of anniversaries. Lip isn't going to want to miss out on that, I swear" he says, not noticing the way her hand tensed in his.

The doctor soon comes out and they all eagerly get up, "How is he?" Mandy is the first to ask.

"He suffered a massive head trauma and we did have to perform surgery to stop the swelling on his brain but his vitals look good, he's responding to stimuli well. If all goes well in the next 48 hours, I think he will make a full recovery"

Mandy lets out a sigh of relief, collapsing back onto the chair in tears while Fiona happily embraces her siblings. When she's calm enough, Mandy asks if she can see him and the doctor leads her back to his room.

He's pale, monitors attached to him and his heartbeat echoing throughout the room, a large bandage wrapped around the left side of his head. Mandy exhales, sitting down on the chair beside him and threading her fingers through his.

"Oh baby" she sighs, brushing his cheek with her other hand "So much for a drama free wedding right?... I was so scared, I thought I was going to lose you" her voice breaks, her throat thick with tears "I love you so much, and I need you to get better soon okay? Just take your time and rest, because I need you here Lip… I'm pregnant, you're going to be a father" she breaks down, sobbing into the bed until she drifts off.

….

She wakes suddenly to the sound of someone groaning, Lip groaning. She quickly raises her head and her eyes meet his sleepy yet open ones.

"You're awake" she cries, getting up and pressing her lips to the side of his head which was uninjured "thank god you're awake"

She notices that he tenses up, his body becoming stiff in her arms and pulls away, scared that she'd hurt him so soon after the accident "Lip? What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"W-Who are you?"

….


	11. Oceans

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 11

….

 _Crack_

I take a step back, the sound of my heart breaking echoing through my ears as his confused eyes stare at me.

 _Crack_

" _Who are you?"_ He doesn't remember me, we just got married, we had a baby on the way and he didn't know who I was.

 _Crack_

I stumble out into the waiting room, the room spinning slightly as my stomach lurches. Ian rushes to steady me while Fiona asks what's going on.

 _Crack_

"H-he doesn't remember me" I mumble before pushing past them, desperate to get out this hospital, away from the awful pain in my chest. I retch into a nearby bush when I leave, my body shaking with shock and pain.

Mickey rushes outside, swearing when he sees me being sick and comes over, awkwardly rubbing my back "You want to get away from here?" he asks

I shakily nod and once my stomach has settled he drags me back to the Gallagher house, sitting me down on the couch as he grabs me a glass of water and sits down next to me.

"What happened in there?" he asks after a while

"He woke up, but god, Mick he looked at me like I was some stranger. He doesn't know who I am" I say, fiddling with my wedding band "Typical Milkovich luck, married less than a day and he's forgotten who I am"

"I think you might need something stronger than water" he says getting up and grabbing a bottle of vodka before bringing it over.

For a second I reach over to grab the bottle, desperate to drown out this pain in my chest but then I remembered why I couldn't drink and pulled my hand back shaking my head "I'm alright thanks"

"Mands you need this, trust me" he says holding out the bottle again but I push it away "What's going on?"

"Nothing, I just don't want any of that shitty ass vodka alright?" I snap

Mickey looks at me for a moment, as if deep in thought before something seems to click in his mind and he gives me this pitying look "Mandy…"

"What? Would you stop looking at me like that?" I shout

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

I scoff, refusing to meet his eyes "What? No! Of course not"

"Mands"

"What?"

"Look at me" he says softly and I look up, entire body trembling

"I-I found out at the hospital" I whisper, before bursting into tears "You, you can't tell anyone Mick. Please" I beg breaking down and crying into my hands. I hear Mickey try to hush me, his hand rubbing my back as I sobbed.

"I can't do this Mick, I can't raise this baby by myself"

"Hey you're not going to okay? That idiot loves you too much to forget you completely, he'll remember Mandy"

I lean against him, crying until I have no tears left to cry. Looking down at my now blood and ash stained dress I tell Mickey I'm going to have a shower, heading upstairs. I strip off, leaving my soiled dress in a heap on the floor, looking at it makes me feel sick.

I turn on the shower and step under the spray of the water, the water surrounding my feet quickly brown as I wash away the physical reminders of what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I slide my wedding ring off, rinsing it free of dried blood and sit on the floor of the shower, letting the hot water spray over my head.

I don't know how long it was before Ian knocked at the door, towel in hand. I let him pull me out of the shower, wrapping me up in the towel and taking me back to Lip and I's room. He turns as I change quickly into some leggings and a jumper, letting my wet hair drip down my back.

"The doctor says it's called retrograde amnesia, said it's not that uncommon with head injuries like Lip's" Ian explained as I sat down on our bed.

"He's okay, right? He's not in a lot of pain?" I ask

He shakes his head "No, he's got lots of painkillers at the moment. Fiona's staying with him"

"Will his memory come back?" I ask, fearing his answer

Ian sighs, running a hand through his red hair "They don't know"

I tense up, turning on him "What do you mean they don't know? They're doctors! This is their job for fucks sake!"

"They said they can't be sure, most of the time they do remember but they can't make any promises. Mandy, you need to calm down"

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down! My husband doesn't know who I am! We've been married for less than a day Ian! And now, I'm like a stranger to him!" I shout, starting to become hysterical again "So what do we do now? Do we just take him home and hope for the best?"

Ian noticeably tenses, "They need to run a few more tests, but…he seems to be able to remember Fiona and the rest of us"

"Just not his wife" I scoff bitterly "that's perfect, that's just…fucking perfect" I whimper, rubbing my eyes

He grabs my shoulders, making me look at him "He's going to remember Mandy, alright? After all the shit that you two went through just to get married, this is not the way things are going to end"

I shake my head "he doesn't know who I am Ian. You can't tell me that everything is going to be okay, that he'll remember because you don't know that. You don't know he will!"

"You're right, but I know Lip, and I know how much he loves you. Just give him time Mandy" Ian suggests

I nod, wiping my eyes for what seems like the hundredth time "We should get back to the hospital"

…..

Ian and Mickey sit with me as we wait outside Lip's room, Fiona is inside explaining the… _situation_ the best she can. Debbie takes Carl and Liam home after saying goodbye to her brother, nursing her broken arm and giving me a sad look as she left.

Fiona comes out soon after, her arms wrapped around herself "He's very out of it, they have him on a lot of drugs"

"Can I see him?" I ask, eager to at least see my husband.

Fiona hesitates, biting into her bottom lip "The doctors are worried about stressing him out too much, with his head injury"

I frown "What are you saying?"

"They think it might be best if we take things slowly, only telling him a few things at a time. They're worried telling him too much too soon could set back his progress"

I stiffen, getting the gist of what Fiona is saying "You don't think we should tell him that we're together"

She gives me a sad look before nodding, reaching into her jacket pocket she pulls out a plastic bag, Lip's wedding ring inside "They, uh, gave me this. Had to take it off during surgery"

I gingerly take it, feeling the ring through the plastic. Sighing I look at Fiona "I'll move back into Mickey's tomorrow"

She nods "Thanks Mandy, I swear this is only short term alright? We'll get him back"

I look to the window where I can see Lip sleeping "Please just…take care of him"

With that I turn and exit the hospital, leaving my husband behind.

….

Sorry for the long wait, I have been having health problems lately combined with writer's block. Still not 100% happy with this chapter


	12. Little Do You Know

Bring Me Back to Life

Chapter 12

(I don't own Shameless)

…..

Mandy could feel her stomach twisting uncomfortably as she walked down the street leading to the Gallagher's. She had kept her promise to Ian, she'd come over to the house a couple a times a week, albeit keeping a distance from her husband so as not to stress him out or impede his recovery. But she'd never been left alone in the house with him before.

Fiona had surprised her when she called her this morning, sister-in law or not, they still weren't all that close. Ian was having one of his 'bad days' as Fiona liked to called his depressed episodes, and she needed someone to come and keep an eye on Liam and Lip, as he was still recovering from surgery.

It wasn't that Mandy didn't want to take care of her husband, every moment she spent away from him was like agony, she'd give anything to be able to stay and look after him. But at the same time, she didn't want to cause any complications in his recovery. She needed him to get better, so if her staying away would get him there, she'd do it.

The door wasn't locked when she arrived, the sound of the T.V the first thing she heard as she entered the house. Lip was sitting on the couch with Liam, watching some random kid show. He turned when he heard her come in, frowning when he spotted her.

"Uh, Mandy right?"

She nods, inwardly wincing at the confused way he was looking at her.

"Ian's upstairs" he says, turning back to the TV.

"How is he?... Did Fiona manage to get him to eat anything?" she asks, setting her jacket on the floor with her bag.

"No, your brother said he'd be back as soon as he could"

She nods again, moving to where Liam was sitting "Hey little man, I'm gonna go check on your brother and then maybe we can head out to the park" she says as she ruffles his hair "I'll be right back"

She heads upstairs, making her way into Ian's room. The lights are off, blinds drawn and she can see his body underneath the covers. She sits on the bed beside him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder "Hey Ian"

She gets no response, so she continues to talk softly to him "How're you doing?"

"Tired" he mumbles into his pillow.

"Okay… you wanna talk about it?" she asks

He groans, shaking his head.

"That's fine. You want me to stay in here for a bit?"

"I just want to sleep" he moans, pressing his head further into the pillow

"Okay, well how abut I grab you something to eat and then you can go back to sleep?" she suggests

He mumbles in response and she pats his shoulder before getting up and heading back downstairs. She quickly makes some sandwiches and take Ian's upstairs with his meds, watching as he takes his meds and has a few bites of his sandwich before turning back over in bed.

She leaves him to sleep, handing Lip and Liam their sandwiches before going back into the kitchen to clean up. About ten minutes later there's a cough behind her and she turns to find Lip standing awkwardly behind her with the plates in his hands.

"Thanks for lunch" he says as she takes the plates from him, disposing of them in the sink.

"It's fine. I might take Liam out for a bit. You need me to do anything before we go?" she asks

"Uh, actually…yeah. I need to clean my wound. I'd do it myself but the broken ribs make it hard" he says, gesturing to the bandages covering the left side of his head

"Oh! Uh yeah, of course…Um, do you want to do this here or in your room?"

"Here's fine. The bandages and antiseptic are in the bottom left cupboard" he says, sitting down at the kitchen table.

She gets out the things she needs before standing in front of Lip and carefully peeling away the bandages wrapped around his head. A long, angry looking cut runs down the side of his head, about 4 centimetres in length and staples holding the skin together.

She dabs at the wound with the antiseptic, noting the way he winces "Sorry, does it hurt much?"

"Not really. They gave me some really good pain killers. I just wish my brain wouldn't feel so fucking _fuzzy_ all the time" he snaps

"Is that normal?" she asks as she finishes up

"Yeah, the doctor said I'd be feeling a bit weird for a while. Just wish I knew how I ended up in there in the first place"

She freezes momentarily as she goes to place a new bandage over the wound, her mouth suddenly dry as Lip looks at her curiously. His eyes are drawn to her temple, where the nurses had stitched the cut she'd gotten from the explosion.

He watches her with a frown as she hurriedly places the bandage down, quickly disposing of the old one. It's as if something clicks inside his brain and his eyes widen "You were there, weren't you? When the explosion happened"

She avoids eye contact, moving away from him "I should check on Ian"

He grabs her arm, keeping her from leaving the "What the fuck is going on? Every time I even ask about the accident everybody just changes the subject. I'm not a fucking child, I deserve to know the truth"

She pulls her arm back, shaking her head "I can't Lip, I promised your sister"

"Fuck Fiona! You're all hiding something from me! You have any idea what it's like to wake up and have 3 years of your memory lost? Gone? I barely fucking know you and yet Fiona is letting you babysit, Liam, he acts as if you're his sister or something and your brother is shacking it up upstairs with Ian. What the fuck is going on?" he yells, his face slowly reddening.

"Stop yelling! You're going to wake Ian up!" she hisses, the last thing Ian needed right now was to listen to the two of them screaming.

"Fine, then maybe he can tell me what the fuck everyone is hiding from me" Lip snaps, pushing past her and heading for the front door.

"Where're you going?"

"Out"

"You know that you're not supposed to be going out with your head wound" she says as she follows him angrily, this was not how she had planned her day going.

"Yeah well, I can't stand to be in this fucking house any longer" he spits out, grabbing his jacket before storming out, slamming the door on the way out.

Mandy supressed to urge to scream in frustration at how unfair this situation was, remembering the small child still seated on the couch. Forcing a smile, she sits down, brushing her hand over Liam's head.

….

An hour passes and Lip's still not back much to Mandy's panic, she debates going out after him but Ian's hardly in the right state of mind at the moment to be babysitting and she doesn't want to drag Liam out for god knows how long.

She calls Fiona buts she's at work and doesn't answer, so after 7 voicemails she gives up and channels all of her energy into putting Liam down for a nap and gleaning the house, checking the front window every couple of minutes.

Another hour passes by the time Lip comes back, the layer of sweat covering his skin indicating how exhausted he was. Mandy's filled with relief and overcome by anger at the same time, the anger takes over and she storms over to where he's collapsed on the couch "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I went to see Karen, or at least where she used to live. She's not there anymore" Lip gasps, out of breath

 _Of course, he went to Karen fucking Jackson_ she thinks bitterly to herself "Don't run off like that again you fucking dick, you scared the shit out of me. Now what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you been running a marathon?"

"Painkillers, I was supposed to have a dose a while ago" he pants, grimacing in pain

With an angry sigh, she goes to fetch his medication, giving to him with a glower "You know for a genius you can be really fucking stupid sometimes"

"And for a skank you really know how to act like you give a shit" he spat

She flinched as if he had slapped her, tears pricking her eyes that she put down to hormones "Guess you haven't forgotten everything" she muttered, shoving the glass of water she had for him into his hand "just take your fucking meds"

Debbie arrives home soon after, Mandy quickly lets her know about Ian before saying her goodbyes, eager to get out of the house.

She doesn't breakdown until she's at least a block away.


	13. Dynasty

Bring me Back to Life

Chapter 13

(I don't own Shameless)

….

Mandy goes to her first ultrasound appointment alone. The second the heartbeat comes up on the monitor, all the anxiety she'd been feeling for the last couple of weeks about the pregnancy washed away instantly. She left the doctors office with four copies of the ultrasound, one for the Gallaghers, one for Mick, one for her to keep and one she kept in the hope that Lip might remember one day.

She'd recently gotten a job at a local diner, realising that she very well might be a single mother soon and was slowly saving up for things for the baby. Fiona had managed to sneak over a box of Liam's old baby things, which she gratefully took.

"We didn't really have toys when we were kids, this bear was passed down from kid to kid" Fiona says with a hint of melancholy to her voice, picking up a tattered brown bear from the box, different scraps of fabric sewn in to keep it together "This way, no matter what happens, it'll have something of its fathers"

Lip was almost recovered from his physical injuries, but sill was struggling to remember, only getting little flashbacks. Despite their fight, she still visited the Gallaghers often, helping out when she could. She just avoided Lip, it hurt too much to be around him at the moment and she needed to try and be as calm as possible, for the sake of the baby.

She ruffled Liam's hair as she stepped inside the Gallagher house, she wasn't working until later and she wanted to show Ian and Fiona the ultrasound before then. She made sure Lip wasn't around before fishing the picture out of her bag, quickly passing it to Ian who showed Fiona with a smile "So that's my little niece or nephew huh?"

Mandy quickly smacked him on the arm "Ian! What if he heard you?"

"I still don't understand why you can't tell him Mandy, memory loss or not, he deserves to know he's going to be a father"

"Because he just had brain surgery you ass, and the doctors think that stressing him out could cause problems with his recovery" Mandy snaps "You think that I'd keep this from him if I had any other option?"

The stairs behind her creak, effectively ending their conversation as Lip sleepily makes his way down. He pauses when he spots her, awkwardly running a hand through his hair "Uh… hey"

"Hi" she says, before turning back to Ian "I should probably get going, don't forget you're helping me clean out the house tomorrow" she says, making sure Fiona had hidden the ultrasound photo away before quietly exiting the house.

"Well that wasn't awkward at all" Lip mutters as he goes to make himself a bowl of cereal

"You still haven't apologised" Ian reminds him as he finishes the last of his breakfast "I know you have memory loss but you were still a dick to her"

"I know" Lip says as he sits down at the table

"She didn't have to come over you know, she wanted to help out and you were a complete tool"

"I know" Lip snaps, glaring at his younger brother "You think I don't feel bad about it?"

"Then why haven't you apologised?" Ian asked "She was just here, it's only two words Lip"

"She practically ran out of here, what was I supposed to do, run after her?"

"Well, can you blame her? She was only trying to help and you flat out insulted her. Why would she want to hang around here?"

"I know, okay? I'll… I'll fix it, I just need to figure out how" Lip says with a tired sigh

"Well for starters you can come help move stuff out of her house tomorrow" Ian suggests

"Why? Is she moving?" Lip asks, the thought of her moving causing panic for some reason

Ian shakes his head "No, she's just got some things she wants to get rid of and needs help with the heavy lifting. We're going there around noon" he says, quickly heading up to his room before Lip could protest.

…

Mandy could only glare at Ian when she opened the front door and saw that he wasn't alone, wordlessly she let them into the house before quickly pulling the younger Gallagher away "Why did you bring him here?" she hisses under her breath.

"He wanted to come and help out, and I kinda guilt tripped him into it" Ian says, dodging the smack she tries to land on his arm "Hey, this might turn out better than you think. I mean, he's out of the house, and he's been here before, it could stir up some memories"

"That's not what this is about Ian" She snaps "You know as well as I do that he might never remember me, that's hard enough to deal with, I don't need you shoving him in front of my face every day"

"C'mon Mandy, let's just see how it goes. If it makes things worse I won't bring him around here again okay" Ian suggests, watching her for a minute until she finally gives in and nods "Thank you, alright now where should we start?"

She leads him to her bedroom, where there are already boxed filled with things. The walls, once covered in posters are now bare, the dark curtains that hung above her window are now stripped away and her sheets have been changed, now a dark floral print.

"Those boxes can all go outside, I'm going to try and drop some off at the salvos on the way to work" she says, passing the first one to Lip who goes to take it outside.

Ian takes a peek inside the box and is surprised by the content "Your clothes?"

"Well it's not like I'm going to fit any of them soon" Mandy sighs, gesturing to the slightest bump that was growing between her hipbones "and I don't want my child to grow up and hear someone comment on how 'easy' I am. I've got some new clothes already Ian, don't worry"

"You shouldn't throw out all of your things just because you're scared of what people are going to say Mandy" Ian says "You're going to be a great mother"

"It's not just that Ian, all this stuff… they all have bad memories attached to them. My mum dying, my dad coming into my room drunk and calling me by my mother's name, Kenyatta… I don't want to bring my child into a world where it's constantly surrounded by that kind of stuff" Mandy says, closing the last box up and passing it to Ian "Which reminds me, I need you to help me get rid of this carpet"

"I can help with that" Lip says, appearing at the door

Ian shrugs and goes to take the next box out, leaving them alone in her room. She kneels on the ground picking up the edge of the carpet and begins to tug it upwards.

"I'm sorry about the other day" Lip speaks, causing her to pause momentarily "You were just trying to help and I acted like a fucking asshole"

She doesn't look up at him, focusing on the fraying edges of the carpet "Is Ian making you say this?"

"No, I mean yes he threatened to cut my balls off if I didn't make this right but that's not why I'm… I saying it because I mean it" Lip says, watching her for a moment before she looked up "I was angry and I was frustrated and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. It's just hard, not being able to remember anything. And I know there's something that you guys aren't telling me"

Her brain is screaming at her that this is her chance, her chance to come clean and finally tell him everything he was missing but she stops herself before the words can come out "I'm sorry Lip, but I promised your sister"

He nods, sighing bitterly "Well I might as well get back to doing my job if you're not going to tell me the fucking truth" he says, going back to the carpet and pulling a little bit more of it up, pausing when he spotted a rather large stain "What the fuck! Is that blood?"

Mandy looks to where his eyes are focused "Oh, uh yeah… stain never really came out" she mutters hoping he'll drop it

"pretty big stain, were you fucking stabbed or something?"

"No I...I was attacked" she stammers "Ex-boyfriend, he was drunk and he… went nuts"

Lip wants to say something, noticing how obviously uncomfortable talking about it made her, but all of a sudden, he's seeing flashes of her room, glass from a broken mirror on the floor and a large puddle of blood soaking into her carpet. His hands grip the carpet tightly as more things flash in his mind, Mandy's face bloodied and bruised, a drunk man in a bathroom, the feeling of his fist hitting his face, the terror running through his body when Mandy wouldn't wake up.

"Lip? Lip what's wrong? Is it your head? Should I take you to the hospital?" Mandy asks, worried over how quiet he's gotten.

"You…You came to my house looking for Ian" he mutters, barely loud enough for her to hear, standing he goes to face her "Your boyfriend attacked you… Kenyatta. Your mirror was broken and there was blood all over the floor… I remember that, why do I remember that?"

Mandy stares at him in shock, opening and closing her mouth a few times before words finally come out "Lip… maybe now's not the best time to talk about this"

"That's fucking bullshit!" Lip shouts, slamming his fist against her dresser. She jumps, panic filling her as memories of another man shouting in her room play in her mind

Ian comes in, obviously attracted by the sound of Lip shouting "Hey, what the hell is going on?"

"I fucking remembered something and she won't tell me why!" he yells, turning to his brother, fuming "We came here after her boyfriend beat her up, right?"

Ian looks to Mandy, before nodding "Yes, you and I came looking for him after Mandy turned up at our house black and blue. That was almost a year ago Lip"

He swears under his breath, running his fingers through his hair anxiously "Why would I do that? I barely know her" he says, looking up at his brother with confusion in his eyes "What, did we used to fuck or something?"

Ian doesn't reply, so he turns to Mandy who's avoiding eye contact with him "W-What?" he stammers, the new information sinking in "n-no I… I loved Karen"

"Karen's been gone a while Lip" Ian tries to explain "She was in an…accident. She went somewhere where she could be taken care of properly"

"Accident?" New images pop up in his head, Karen in a hospital bed, the texts on his phone, confronting Mandy about it "You! You hit her with your car!"

She looks at him, eyes wide and full of sadness and regret "Lip, please"

He storms towards her, Ian stepping in to separate them "What the fuck is wrong with you? You're a fucking psychopath!"

"Hey! That's enough" Ian shouts, shoving his brother back a bit

"How can you let her into our house Ian? What the fuck! She almost killed someone! She's not safe to be around! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she is a fucking Milkovich after all"

"Lip, I'm sorry" Mandy cries from behind Ian "Please just let me explain"

"No, you don't fucking talk to me! Don't ever come by our house again" Lip spits, hatred in his eyes before turning and storming out of her room.

A few moments later her front door slams shut and Ian turns to face her, grasping her shoulder "You okay?"

She sobs, but nods anyway "I'm fine, you have to go after him. He's still recovering"

"You want me to go after him after the way he just spoke to you?" Ian scoffs "He deserves to fall into a gutter somewhere"

"Ian, please"

"No, I mean it Mandy, you're pregnant with his baby, how could he scream at you like that?

"You're forgetting that he doesn't know abo- Ahhh!" she winced, a sharp cramp radiating through her lower stomach

"Mandy? What is it? What's wrong?" Ian asks, a hand on her back as she doubled over

"I don't know, it hurts!" she cries, falling to the floor "Ian, the baby… I think I'm losing it!"


End file.
